Friday, June 16, 2017

Not only is the Jonathan Greenblatt
era ADL failing to defend Jews, but its pandering to the left has taken
it into direct solidarity with anti-Semitic organizations.
The ADL signed on to a Muslim Advocates letter attacking Act for
America's anti-Sharia marches. But Act for America, unlike many of the
groups that co-signed the letter, is pro-Israel. Meanwhile the
ADL's co-signers included CAIR, an Islamist organization with a history of supporting Hamas,JVP,
an anti-Israel BDS group, T'ruah, a soft BDS anti-Israel group, and
NIAC, Iran's lobby. And a number of other left-wing organizations that
back BDS.Jonathan Greenblatt did his best "I'm shocked there's gambling going on here" response.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), said
on Monday he was “deeply upset” and “troubled” after discovering that a
public statement opposing anti-Muslim bigotry which his organization
recently endorsed was also signed by a number of radical anti-Israel
groups.
“We would not sign onto any letter alongside these organizations intentionally,” Greenblatt told The Algemeiner.

A year and a half ago, ZOA criticized the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for signing a joint letter together with
virulent anti-Israel and radical Islamist groups... It is hard to
believe that ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt was “duped” into signing 29
joint letters with radical Islamist and anti-Israel groups – when ADL
has done this before. ..
Moreover, ADL is still bragging on
its website that “ADL joined with over 100 groups” to sign the joint
letters. ADL’s website also links to the “Muslim Advocates” website that
contains the 29 joint letters. It’s difficult to believe that ADL did
not know who co-signed its 29 joint letters, when ADL’s own website
provides the links to the site where all 29 letters and their 129
signatories are posted.

The ADL is professional
enough that it wouldn't sign on to a letter without knowing who the
other signatories are. And there's a history here that I've pointed out in the past.

In New York City, the ADL convened what it billed as an inaugural
summit on anti-Semitism. Its urgent title, and accompanying hashtag, was
#NeverisNow. It promised TED Talks and “interactive sessions on the
challenges posed by modern-day anti-Semitism.”
Instead it provided a platform for opponents of Israel to spew their hatred at the Jewish State.
The “Is Delegitimization of Israel Anti-Semitism?” panel gave
anti-Israel activist Jill Jacobs and the Forward’s Jane Eisner a forum.
Jacobs denounced the Israeli “occupation” and argued that Jews had to
stop equating attacks on Israel with anti-Semitism. She defended BDS
tactics against accusations of anti-Semitism and criticized the Jewish
community for backing legislation opposed to BDS.
While
leftist anti-Semitism could be given the benefit of the doubt, Jacobs
denounced counterterrorism expert Frank Gaffney who has worked to
protect Israel and Jews from Muslim terrorists.
The Jane
Eisner quote, which the ADL chose to showcase, insisted that, “with the
BDS movement, there are some bad actors, but we have to listen hard to
people attracted to that ideology and think of ways to engage with them
productively.”

The ADL wants to jump on the
intersectionality train. But the basic price of that is working with
Islamists who support Hamas and assorted leftist anti-Semites. And so
the ADL ignores Jewish civil rights and instead functions as a generic
social justice lobby. And that's clearly what Greenblatt wants.